Don't miss the Ferry Building in SF. We had a wonderful meal at the Slanted Door and sampled bread from Acme Bakery every day for 3 days. Also great chocolates, and cheese, and just about everything else. In San Diego, we had a great lunch at the Prado, in the San Diego Museum of Art. Here in LA we really like a local French place at the Helms Bakery complex, called La Dijonaise. It's good food, well priced, a nice French bistro, and you can shop for home decor next door.

[quote="Rainey"]Oooo! Calabasas has one of my favorite little spots. Cosmos. I never can remember the name of the street "
What I really love is the salad with the apricots and walnuts topped with
And Abuelita's is not really very far from Calabassas.
If you're in Calabassas on Saturday the farmers' market takes place in the morning. "

I didn't realize Calabassas is also a town. I was sure it's a neighbourhood. My friend lives in a place you can reach of course only by car, after having identified yourself at the gate, and after the gate you still have about 3-4 miles drive to her home. There is nothing around but other villas and if I you forgot to buy milk for your mornning coffee you drive 10-15 minutes to the nearest shopping center. But I remember the Farmer's Market, we bought good tomatoes because i love tomatoes for breakfast.

Tannazie, I see we are both Virgins . Happy birthday and Happy New Year to you too. A little explanation to our friends: the Hebrew Calendar is lunar and has 28 days. Therefore yeach year , Passover, New Year . Yomm Kippour, etc. fall on a different day of the Gregorian Calendar. This year, my birthday ( 10th of september) does not fall on the New Yar, it's Tannazie's turn. But it does once in a while ( every 19 years I think, but I'm not sure). Ortodox Jews celebrate their birthday according to the Jewish calendar, so it is a different (gregorian) date every year.

Yes, simona, there is still a very little of Old Calabassas left (alas! it was small and intimate and lovely) but most of it is new McMansions in gated communities.

Not my cup of tea but I hope your friends are happy there.

PS One of the few remaining parts of Old Calabassas is the hanging tree that is at the site of the farmers' market. It really was used for hangings. NOT one of the intimate or lovely parts!_________________God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

Chinese dim sum in San Francisco. Simona, you're in luck, because my brother-in-law is Chinese, and they live in Oakland. Their favorite dim sum restaurant in the Bay area is not in Chinatown, but in Emeryville, right on the water. I'll dredge up the name of the restaurant, and pass it along to you, with handy directions for how to get there. I love dim sum. Partly because of the variety, and the small plates, partly because it's exotic, partly because I'm a pig and like to eat a lot._________________The goal is to fit it all in.

There is the original Bouchon up in the Napa Valley if you don't want to bother with French Laundry. Thomas Keller has also just opened another restaurant open only at dinner with no reservation policy that I can't recall the name of.

Sounds like you ate at the cafe at Chez Panisse, a totally different experience than the fixed price downstairs. You only eat what is being served that day. I've only gone once and saw Julia Child there, so obviously it wasn't a recent experience.

Check out the Coppia musuem in Napa all about food and wine. Hopefully they will have a good special exhibit, but just the exhibit on American foodways and history is good. The restaurant named after Julia is supposed to be very good.

We mostly eat ethnic out, so I can't help you with a lot of "name" restaurants, but check out the restaurant reviews at San Francisco magazine. I've always found what they say to be fairly accurate of my experience:
http://www.sanfranmag.com

I'm back to this post three and a half years later... and since my life has changed completely. We never made it to LA that autumn..
But this time, I hope I will arrive to your shores (May 2010), alas, alone, as I lost my husband 4 months ago.
I'm planning a long trip to the US, 2-3 months. LA and surroundings will be my base in the West, as mentioned in my first post ( august 2006... another decenie, another life..).I'll post another topic for the East Coast.
I re-read all your suggestions, and I will duly note them. But I thought maybe there are new places you know of, and really , I don't mean fancy ones: I love ethnic food, good but unpretentious restaurants, I love a good (and big) steak, a good italian and of course, chinese, japanese , Thai, vietnamese etc. Actually I like everything edible.
I'll be happy too to meet some of our LA-SF-SD and surroundings forum friends. I'll have a car and lots of time.
Thanks in advance ,

I'm so sorry, Simona! Everytime I saw you post here I wondered about your husband, you'd mentioned a conference he wanted to attend, but his health was complicating the trip. That was maybe a year ago?
You seem to me like a strong no-nonsense person with a huge sentimental streak. I hope you're feeling stronger and more whole every day now.

Thank you Georgia and Rosemary for your kind and warm words. It's a hard time, but I'm decided to go . There is no other choice. He will always be with me.
I'm looking forward for this trip in the US, to meet family and friends.
So dear West Coast cyberfriends, I'm waiting for your reccommendations, so please, don't let me down.
Interesting places to visit are also welcome. I believe my LA friends also know some places, but they will be happy to hear about new ones. We'll probably travel by car to SF ( I hate planes), and I'm happy to re-see the coast and stop this time for several days in Carmel and other small towns on the way . And have lots of sea food...

My friend and I have done some major dim sum research and this place is the best we've found! I took Rainey there the first time we met up.

My favorite Indian diner is Shalimar on Jones and Geary in San Francisco. It is Northern Indian and it is always CRAMMED with Indians! It's like a gathering place for Indian immigrants. The food is tasty and it's NOT fancy, by any means.

The Beach Chalet, http://www.beachchalet.com/ - at the end of Golden Gate Park and across the Great Highway from Ocean Beach always has a good seafood special. Plus yummy burgers and great all around American Cuisine. And - it's a micro brewery with some dandy beers - if you like that. The view is almost overwhelming and there is a really lovely WPA mural on the ground floor - nature, good food and culture all in one spot!

My very favorite little (VERY little) Italian restaurant is l'Osteria del Forno http://www.losteriadelforno.com/ at 519 Columbus St - right in the heart of North Beach. There cannot be more than about 8 tables so you need to get there at about 5:00 pr 5:30 or else you spend an hour waiting. Their specialty is roasted meats (the Forno part) but you can have a perfectly lovely vegetarian meal there as well. Love, love love this place!

I look forward to hearing more about your plans!_________________L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais

Simona, so very sorry to hear about the loss of your husband, I do recall reading that he had been in poor health for some time. The death of a loved one is never easy but your lasting memories will always be with you. Enjoy this healing journey with good food and friends to share it with.

Wow, that's really sad news. I've very sorry for your loss. I think taking an extended vacation the US is the best thing to do. I'm still new to San Diego but I'll try and research some restaurants for you._________________"Help! Help! I'm being repressed!" --- Monty Python and the Holy Grail

I have just been catching up on this thread as I am also returning for a visit to the US for an extended visit 3-6 months, and I found this forum such a great source of inspiration the last time I traveled.

I hope you have a wonderful time enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes that are on offer._________________Paula (and sometimes Wanda) from Only Cookware
http://www.only-cookware.com/